Lost Sentinel: Post-Apocalyptic Time Travel Adventure (Earth Survives Series Book 1)
Page 7
“Daddy?” she called out, the sound of her wobbly voice seeming to disappear into ether. It was unnaturally silent. Fighting against the urge to turn around and flee, she made herself go through the rooms of the main floor, each proved to be as it should, blandly decorated and empty. What had happened to her father? Had he been one of the lucky ones, immune and taken to safety? She still didn’t know that this had happened, but stubbornly clung to the idea. Somewhere along the line she had decided her father would remain alive until she knew for a fact he was dead. Recalling his last look of confusion when he’d left in Jack’s helicopter almost finished off her self-control. Why had she waited so long to make it right with him? It hadn’t always been bad between them. In the early days, they’d been very close. Battling the need to cry, she went through the kitchen into the pantry, then practically sagged to the floor with what she found. The shelves were loaded.
She grabbed two cans, one containing mini ravioli, a childhood favorite, the other sliced peaches, and went into the kitchen to open them. She heated the ravioli in the microwave, considering the machine as she waited. She had solar and wind generated power at the cabin; a microwave heated food in seconds, without wood. The microwave dinged. She retrieved the bowl of hot food and almost inhaled it, she was so hungry, then ate the peaches more slowly, savoring each slice directly out of the can, then drank the sweet juice as well. It was quite possibly the best meal she’d ever tasted.
Tossing the two cans into the recycling bin–she caught herself; why?–then dragged a chair to the microwave, climbed up, unplugged it and wrestled it out from the shelf. It was heavier than she expected, but she managed to haul it out to the Beast, placing it on the floor behind the driver’s seat. She’d already decided that Rhea would have to sit in Bill’s lap. Back inside the house, she filled boxes with as much food as she could manage, moving in and out of the house as quickly as she could. The canned goods she stacked inside the Beast. The boxes of lighter packaged foods she stacked on top of the Beasts trunk. She was about to disregard a bag of potatoes that had sprouted roots but stopped and reconsidered. She could plant these in the garden, they could grow and produce more potatoes. Since her garden was doomed to fail, this would be her only crop. She brought the bag of potatoes.
When the boxes were level with the Beast’s roof, she covered it with a tarp from the garage, strapping the whole thing down with bungee cords. The back seat behind the driver was now loaded to the roof, putting the Beast a bit off balance. She considered this and shifted a few boxes onto the floor of the other backseat. Wyatt would have to keep his feet up, that’s all she could manage.
That left room for clothes. She hurried back inside and raked through her father’s closet and dresser, pulling out sweaters, sweatshirts, sweat pants, anything she could cut down to size for herself using her extremely fundamental sewing skills. She filled a bag with socks. In the front closet she found warm outer clothing and claimed these as well. Bedding? No, she had lots of bedding. The kids could sleep in the loft that ran around the inside perimeter of the cabin – lots of room up there. What was she forgetting? She stopped in the hallway and thought.
Toilet paper! It was almost comical, but not really. She shuddered at the thought of no toilet paper. But it took up so much room, room she was quickly running out of. She needed soap more. She went with the soap—then caved, taking the toilet paper as well. She emptied the medicine cabinet. She emptied the junk drawer of batteries and light bulbs.
After securing the load, she went back and locked up the house, knowing it wouldn’t be long before its doors were breached by desperate and quite possibly dangerous people. The cabin was smaller and was no Fort Knox, but it was hidden, a huge advantage, and at the cabin, if they were challenged, they could always disappear into the forest. Here, they would be trapped. After a long glance back, she drove away. “I hope you’re alive, Daddy, I really hope you are alive,” was all she could say.
It was getting near sunrise; Wren could see light hovering along the horizon. It had taken her longer than she had planned, but the supplies she’d found would see her and Bill and the kids for many months–if they agreed to escape this place with her today. She would go back, hear Bill’s decision, then leave Rushton, either with them or alone. She would not spend another night here. Everything in her body told her to bolt–now!
Fighting against her own warning, traveling watchfully through the inner streets and avenues of the town, she stretched her sensors wide. There were minds stirring, but they were too far away for her to read them, and it seemed to her these minds existed in isolated pockets, and did not communicate with one another, each seeming to believe themselves alone and in imminent danger. She could sense emotion, however, and it came at her as a collage of fear and tension and depression and sadness. There were pockets of anger, resentment, even rage. The surviving people hidden inside the houses in Rushton were moving about restlessly. Rushton was a pressure cooker about to explode, and she guessed, not in a good way.
Then she picked up Denny. She stopped the Beast and concentrated on his thoughts, realizing immediately that he and Tuck were on the move. She had grown lax in her monitoring of these two in her bid for supplies, relying on hearing them when they changed their minds. She was horrified to see they weren’t even at the Ice Cream Palace anymore, that they were out on the streets, traveling.
Where are you? She zoned in on both Denny and Tuck, willing them to picture their surroundings to give her a clue. She’d been complacent, and was about to pay the price.
There! They were approaching the Outdoors Store. A couple of hours ago, they might have caught her there. The good news was, they were across town from her and were arguing as usual.
“Thank you, God.” She pressed her forehead against the steering wheel. Weak with gratitude, she started up the Beast, but stopped short once again, her tires squeaking in protest this time. They were arguing about Tuck’s crossbow! Tuck had a crossbow?
He had forgotten it at the Ice Cream Palace and Denny was pissed. She saw Tuck picturing it leaning against one of the booths, where he’d left it. She could be there in minutes. She could steal it and be gone before he returned from the Outdoors Store. She did a U-turn and headed to the Ice Cream Palace.
Then she heard another mind, this one alarmed by the sound of tires outside his house. He grabbed up his rifle, went cautiously to his window … She pressed the accelerator and shot down the street. It was getting crowded here in Rushton, crowded and more dangerous by the minute. She pulled in behind a hedge, turned off the Beast and waited out the suspicious mind and his gun.
She saw the street he was peering out at, saw what he saw, an empty street. Would he come out, would he look for her? She saw that he wouldn’t, that he was afraid. She also saw that he’d killed already, a woman carrying a toddler, who from where he stood, looked sick—and he’d do it again, gawd dammit! He had the right to protect what was his. She turned away from his thoughts with a shudder.
The Beast was too big now, too bulky not to be noticed. She had to hurry, before it was full light, first to the Ice Cream Palace for the crossbow, then to Bill’s. She’d taken too much time. She’d have to wait until dark tonight before she could leave. No. That wasn’t an option. Not with Denny and Tuck headed towards Bill’s place …
She was running on empty; she was losing it.
She got out and ran toward the Palace, praying no one else was watching. Many minds were coming awake, all around her, a roaring jumble of emotions, and their thoughts were not kind. She couldn’t pick out one over another, her early warning system now about to fail her. This was a dangerous place to be. She almost didn’t want to get the crossbow, but forced herself forward, knowing the old bow and arrow set she had now would not bring down any kind of game at all.
She slowed her pace, and slipped from one house to the next, moving from tree to shrub, from shrub to fence, to car, to another tree, looking for cover with every move. It was slow going, but she
caught no further thoughts filled with alarm about someone near their house.
When she at last saw the Ice Cream Palace, it was full light. Here, she’d have to cross the main street, in full view of a dozen houses and boarded up businesses. They might appear deserted, but many were not, their occupants bordering on paranoia in their thinking. She looked longingly at the Palace. So close and yet so far.
Come on, Wren, go get that crossbow. It’s on the top of your “Wish I Had It” list.
It meant meat, protein for the winter, if they were forced to winter here in the north. Flour and sugar and ramen soup were great, but meat was better. Meat was protein. Meat could be salted and dried.
“Oh, hell!” She sprinted across the street and down the sidewalk to the back of the Ice Cream Palace. Seeing no one, she slipped inside, spotted the crossbow exactly where Tuck had left it. She ran to pick it up, surprised to find it was much heavier than she’d realized, then stopped short at seeing two 100 pound bags of rice laying on the bench seat of the booth. This was months of food! This was worth risking her life for!
She wanted it all, she wanted everything, but couldn’t carry it all back to the Beast. She dropped the crossbow and shot back out the back door, all out running to where she’d hidden the Beast. Breathless when she arrived, she threw herself into the driver’s seat, started it up, and sped back through the deserted streets to the Ice Cream Palace. Yes, she was losing it, but she couldn’t not try!
She’d move fast–she’d be in, she’d be out–before anyone knew she was even there. Parking behind the palace, she hauled out the first bag of rice and threw it on the floor on the passenger’s side. Winded, she dragged rather than picked up the second bag, pulling it along the floor behind her, out the door, over the doorsill and across the cement to the Beast. The bag ripped and spilled a trail of precious rice the last few feet. Here she kind of rolled it up and let it tumble inside the Beast on top of the other, pouring a river of rice over the bag below. Watching it, her strength deserted her. At least it was flowing into the Beast, not out. She rested against the tranny willing her suddenly rubbery limbs to move. Now for the crossbow. She needed that crossbow.
Forcing her quaking legs to move, she returned to the crossbow, picked it up and turned in time to see Tuck staring at her from across the restaurant, his expression as surprised as hers must have been.
He stood at a lanky five-ten, with over-grown unwashed hair and a rash of pimples that played peek-a-boo with the patchy beard sprouting on his young face. “Hey, hey hey, little lady,” he greeted, his grin wide and confident as he walked forward with his hands in the air, as if she were a skittish animal needing to be calmed. She glanced at the back door leading to the Beast, then to the side door behind Tuck. He was now effectively blocking both.
She chewed her lips, biting down hard. Focus! All she had on her side was surprise and desperation. Before he could react, she charged at him with the crossbow, screaming as she ran, slamming against him, driving him back against the thick glass divider between the tables and the entrance. His head snapped back. His eyes closed. He went down.
Shocked, she stared at his prone body. That’s all it took? She stretched her sensors, seeking out Denny. He was blocks away, but he was steamed, and walking fast toward the Palace. This time he meant business–.
She dropped the crossbow with a clatter to the floor and blanked him out. She’d hide Tuck in the walk-in freezer, then escape. Yes, he would die in there if he didn’t come to, but what choice did she have? She knew for an absolute fact what Tuck had in mind for her the moment he’d seen her in the Palace, which involved inserting parts of his body into parts of hers before adding her to their stored stash in the walk-in freezer.
Denny wouldn’t look in the freezer for Tuck, it wouldn’t even occur to him. She’d have plenty of time to get back to Bill’s before he knew someone had been here. Grabbing Tuck’s arms, she dragged his limp body across the floor, through the swinging door that led behind the counter and into the kitchen which was filthy, and stunk of spoiled food. Her stomach lurched at what ‘food’ had spoiled.
Reaching the walk-in freezer, she opened the thick metal door, shoved it wide with her foot. A cloud of frosty air blasted out into the warm kitchen. She pulled Tuck to the threshold and peered inside its dim interior. She jerked back, dropping Tuck’s arms and scrambled away until she crashed into a prep table, gagging. Denny and Tuck’s solution to hunger lay before her. A dozen bloodless, pale and naked–headless bodies–were stacked on metal shelves, the reality of it so much worse than what she had read in Denny or Tuck’s brain. There was even a child’s body! She moaned at the sight and turned away, her ravioli and peach lunch threatening to abandon her. How had things gone so horribly wrong in such a short time?
Taking in noisy gulps of air, it took her a few moments to get her emotions in check. She didn’t have the luxury of breaking down, she had to get away, get back to Bill’s and save those children.
With her teeth clamped shut, she made herself turn back to face the freezer door, keeping her eyes on Tuck’s unconscious body and nowhere else. She swallowed, grabbed his arms once again and stepped inside the freezer, dragging Tuck’s disgusting dead weight after her.
It was cold, so very, very cold …
The heavy door swung closed with a definitive and final thunk.
7
HORSES
Coru roamed the covered front porch restlessly, his brain firing pictures of the past two days along with thoughts of how he could escape this new burden to carry on his quest for Wren Wood. It was no good–he couldn’t abandon these people, especially not Mattea—he owed his life to the man. Mattea was twenty-five, one year Coru’s junior, but was so much older in many ways, with years of harsh living on his own. His knowledge of living off the land as they’d traveled had kept them both alive in this new, hostile world.
It was a good thing Mattea had scouted ahead and discovered the farmhouse when he did. They had traveled all night and in the early morning light, it was obvious the girl, Nicola, could go no farther. The dead expression in her face told of her wish to die, and if they kept moving north without rest, Coru feared she would get that wish.
The farmhouse was a small one, deep off the road, and had not yet been plundered by the many traveling bands of survivors, who he’d overheard refer to themselves as Outlanders. In his mind, the label had stuck–it was as good as any.
The farmhouse still had a full pantry and running water, plus clean beds, and medicine. More important, there were horses in the fields. Mattea was assessing each animal now to see if they could be a viable mode of transportation. With the three women and the boy now part of their troop, they had lost so much time … The horses would remedy that.
The first order of the day had been food, of course. Everyone was hungry. The former owners of this place, now buried respectfully beside the barn, had been systematic in managing their pantry, it seemed – there was plenty for all. After studying the pantry shelves, the older lady, Catherine, made a swift choice, pulling 6 quart jars of chicken stew off the shelves. She heated it up and filled generous bowls for all. The boy had wolfed down his meal like an animal and the adults were not far behind.
The younger one, Nicola, was the exception. Catherine had to spoon feed her the stew, coaxing her to open her mouth, to chew, then to swallow. Nicola did not fight her; Nicola followed instructions to the letter, doing exactly what was asked of her and no more, her expression vacant.
Now Catherine was upstairs, bathing the mute Nicola in the old-fashioned tub. They had decided, after finding sleeping meds in the bathroom cabinet, to give Nicola a dose big enough to knock her out cold and put her to bed. They would stay for one day, it was all he dared allow, then move on toward Rushton. The farmhouse was indefensible, should they be caught here by a gang of Outlanders.
Mattea appeared around the corner, leading a big horse by its halter, its body a reddish-brown color, its mane and tail, black.
“He’s what’s known as a Bay.”
“A Bay,” Coru murmured as the horse nuzzled his palm with its warm nose, obviously looking for something. He couldn’t help grinning like a little kid. “What does he want?”
“A treat. A carrot, an apple, some oats. They’re generally equal-opportunity beggars,” Mattea answered with a laugh. “These animals are as tame as family pets. We’re lucky.”
Catherine appeared on the front porch, something dark in her hand, her face worried. “C-Coru, is it? Sorry. And Mattea? We have a problem.” She stepped off the porch and approached them, then held up her hand. It was filled with thick strands of dark hair. “Nicola got a hold of a pair of scissors while I was getting clean clothes for her. She hacked off her hair. I don’t dare leave her alone. I’m afraid she’ll go further next time. We’ve got to work together now. No sharp objects, no weapons, nothing she can hurt herself or others with.
“What would …” Coru started to ask, quickly running out of steam. Obviously, they valued hair here, and this act, this cutting of hair had some significance.
Catherine dropped her eyes. “Ah … Quinton was a hair puller.”
Still mystified, Coru turned to Mattea for an explanation, shocked to find his friend angrier than he’d ever seen him. Cutting of hair had great significance, indeed.
Mattea spoke, his voice still low and soothing, though his nostrils flared and dark eyes flashed. “We’ll watch over her, all of us. We’ll get Nicola through this nightmare.”